HOL

We see many muggle born characters in the books from Hermione Granger (arguably the most famous) to some lesser known ones that came in and out of the plot. These students came from non magical families - most that didn't believe in the existence of magic beforehand.

It must have been rather difficult for these students to get adjusted to the magical world that they had known nothing of before receiving their letters. They had to adjust rather quickly with the community to do well in school and begin exploring magical careers in the new world that had just been opened up to them.

Hermione adjusted rather quickly by reading up quite a bit on history, spells, etc... so when she started at Hogwarts, she did well. However, not everyone would have done so well. Most probably had muggle friends and an entire life they'd built outside of the magical community. It must have been quite a transition to have that taken away and go off to a magical school for the next seven years, not including the rest of their lives once they pursue a magical career. They would entirely leave their old life behind which could be quite an adjustment.

What do you think the biggest adjustment would be for a muggle born student? Do you think most of them would have done well at Hogwarts despite the abrupt transition into the magical world? Can you think of any reasons that a muggle born would not want to attend Hogwarts (ie. have anything to do with the magical world)?

I think that this might very well have different answers between the 1990s - when Harry Potter was a student - and the year 2020. The main reason is that Muggle technology has advanced rapidly over the past few decades while wizarding technology has been relatively stagnant by comparison: in particular, while wizarding means of communication were faster than the standard ways Muggles communicated in the nineties, the advent of Internet and other forms of instantaneous communication allow for Muggles to send information much more efficiently than wizards - who rely on birds (specifically owls) to send their mail!

That said, it still shocks me that someone such as Justin Finch-Fletchley, who was an aristocrat destined for a successful life in the Muggle world (where he would have gone to Eton, which is arguably even more prestigious than Hogwarts), would instead choose to enter an unfamiliar environment where his lack of connections, exacerbated by the fact that neither of his parents were capable of magic, would ensure he would always be at a disadvantage in life.

Despite all of that, it seemed that every Muggle-born student we encounter was excited to enter into the magical world: deep down, they knew they had gifts (in the form of a magical core) that no one around them - with the possible exception of their siblings or the occasional neighbor with similar capabilities - would really understand. As such, Hogwarts gave people such as Hermione Granger or Colin Creevey... or Justin Finch-Fletchley - a chance to truly be themselves with people who truly understood them! By contrast, declining one's Hogwarts letter and living as a Muggle would require one to neglect their magical core, which is a deep, fundamental part of what makes them tick.

One other thing that needs to be considered, though - is how few options there are for jobs in the Wizarding world (simply because of how few people there are with magic) even if there are more than I thought. If you don't really fit into one of those options after Hogwarts, then... since all your education past age eleven is focused on magic, you really don't have that many options professionally in the Muggle world either. And so, one could easily see entering the Wizarding world via Hogwarts as permanently closing doors (even if a Finch-Fletchley type may still maintain connections in the Muggle world) or even burning bridges behind them!